Southern eked out a 56-54 win Friday after Northwood quarterback Ti Pinnix misfired on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game with 38.4 seconds left in a 3-A Big Eight Conference shootout.

“We just threw to the wrong guy,” Northwood coach Bill Hall said about what turned out to be his team’s final opportunity to put points on a scoreboard that kept getting updated.

These were two squads that knew where the end zone was. Their defenses, though, had issues.

“There isn’t anything else to say about the offense,” Southern coach Adrian Jones said. “We’ve got to get better on defense. We’ve got good players over there. It’s just that we’re thinking too much, man. It’s a lot of thinking and not just reacting.

“We can’t keep scoring this many points and expect to win.”

The game was tied 21-21 at halftime with both teams’ starting quarterbacks throwing for two touchdowns and running for one.

Southern quarterback Kendall Hinton kept the ball for himself on an option play and scored 26 yards later. Pinnix scored on an 18-yard run.

Then the second half started, and that’s when the fireworks really began.

In the third quarter, Southern free safety Jeremy Griffis intercepted Pinnix and advanced the ball to Northwood’s 10-yard line.

Defense was rare in this game, but the Chargers played some and had the Spartans staring at fourth-and-goal from the Northwood 35.

No problem for Hinton, because wide receiver Maurice Trowell was waiting on him at the end zone for a touchdown.

But that was no problem for Northwood’s Jalen Smith, who took the ensuing kickoff

90 yards for a touchdown.

Trowell wasn’t having that, and he returned Northwood’s kickoff 64 yards to the end zone.

Northwood and Southern combined for 49 points in the third quarter.

What ended up costing Northwood was a missed extra point in the fourth quarter, caused by Southern’s pressure, that led to a failed conversion attempt with less than a minute left in the game.

“To go toe to toe with that bunch over there and it comes down to a missed extra point and a (missed) two-point conversion,” Hall paused. “I don’t believe in moral victories, but, like I told our guys, we’ve got to keep building. We’ve got to keep getting better, keep getting better. And hopefully, once November comes, we can make a deep run in the playoffs and see what happens.”